• I've written (Y2010) small guide for setting yourself up for video call over Skype - Dos and Don'ts of Skype Video Setup
• 
  

Since end of 2005 I have been helping Ahti Jaan and Priit to build Ambient Sound Investments as private asset management vehicle with sensible strategy focus and team. Given my background I have been focusing on technology investments which is about 20% weight in ASI's diversified portfolio. You will find information about what we have invested to, what are we keen to look at etc at ASI site.

I have done individual investments in the projects that I have liked but for one or another reason have not been suitable for ASI. Do get in touch if your project matches following criteria:

• Seed stage equity investment. Team is in place and work has started.
  
• Funding contribution from me between 50-200K EUR
  
• Based in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or alternatively South-East Asia
• I'm especially interested in
• Consumer-focused home utility monitoring solutions - both hardware and software
• Non-standard payment platforms, eg mobile users, un-banked users.
  
• VOIP and related technologies
• Emerging market web services for consumers
• E-commerce in emerging markets
  

Current ongoing projects:

• Airware builds standardized autopilots for different low-end UAV's, their solution (hardware and software) is shipping and they are hiring experienced engineers to grow the team further. Based at Mountain View, CA, US.
  
• Coda Payments launched their airtime billing service in Indonesia in Feb 2013 under Pulsaq brand.
  
• AlphaSense has built "google for finacial data" making it easy for for buy-side analyst to get answers to their questions in a snap from listed company reports, call transcripts and similar data. Selling, offices in US & Finland.
• Hybrid Logic builds a smart cloud layer for ISPs and web hosts - featuring self healing, on-demand scaling, fast backup and recovery. Selling to early customers, based in UK.
• Duets is a iPhone app for remote couples to sing Karoke tunes together. Manila based team who just about launched.
• Jungle Ventures is a early-stage venture fund with NRF leverage, based in SG, with strong Indian connection.
• Pollenizer is a very hands-on incubator wiht unique operating model, coming global from Sydney, AUS.
• Luxola sells high-end cosmetics online in Singapore is about to expand to other South-East Asian markets.
  
• Sellfy is emerging platform for selling your digital creations - e-books, music, video, software - it takes care both the payment and delivery. Based in Riga, Latvia and first graduate of Startup Highway to take external funding.
  
• Sarkop is large established custom furniture manufacturer - wood based modern furniture - based at Tallinn, Estonia and exporting most of their projects, end customers being hotels, offices and restaurant.
• Vinnal has team of skilled carpenters making solid wood stairways, doors, custom furniture - a woodworking shop for high-end hand-made solutions of individual customers, based at Tartu, Estonia.
  
• RedMart takes care of bulky groceries shopping - from their e-shop to doorstop delivery in Singapore. Launched November 2011.
  
• StartupHighway is a accelerator based in Vilnius, Lithuania, focusing on startups from CEE countries, they launched their first batch in September 2011 and in December first graduates were Relead (enterprise sales lead generator), Sellfy, (SMB digital product sales platform), Llamas Valley (lifestyle e-magazine) and Utilmon (enterprise energy monitoring service).
  
• Insync keeps your Google docs and local storage in sync so you enjoy both collaboration on the web and offline access when needed. In private beta. Founded in Manila, HQd in Singapore.
  
• ReferralCandy provides customer referral system that e-shop owners can plug in to their Amazon, Shopify, Magento, Etsy etc stores. Invested Q2 2011, live, increasing reveneues, expanding, founded&HQd in Singapore.
  
• OK2Go is a travel portal for Russian-speaking people providing both plane and hotel bookings, both for outbound travel from Russia as well as internal hotel bookings. Invested end-of-2010, live and expanding.
• ADZ Central is a intelligent internet advertising buying platform for enterprise-level marketing needs in SEA region. Invested end-of-2010, live and expanding.
• Piclyf makes photo sharing easy and fun for nontechnical people. Launched in mid-2010, early beta with first thousand clients signing up and clients working on few platforms.
  
• UtilityCamp (former HUM) allows households to monitor their energy. In early alpha with ~10 households connected and monitored.
• Garena is one of the fastest growing internet multiplayer gaming communities, emerging from South-East Asia. Status as of  late 2010 - tens of millions monthly users, has taken in major new external funding, going too well to be true.
  
• Fraktal builds a simple CMS service - Edicy - which does not suck. Global service, focused on small sites and customers. Status as of late 2010 - growing, albeit slowly.
  
• PoohTech is investing in electronic payment and ticketing businesses in Tallinn/Estonia/Baltic States. Payment service CMART is live in Latvia as well as Estonian public transport e-ticket system where latter is used by about 50% of Tallinn public transport users. Status as of late 2010 - Latvian payment service doing not too well, E-ticket system doing well.
  
• SmartAd - largest independent advertising network across Baltic states - we invested also via via PoohTech
  
• Crushpad provides facilities and services for making your own wines without chateau & Golden Retriever. SF/US/Global. Service is live and growing.Status as of late 2010 - growing according to and beyond plans.
  

• Roadside is concept lab stage project in Tallinn whos tricycles are eco-friendly alternative to passenger cars and public transport for your 5-10km trips. Status as of  late 2010 - work on this stopped in 2009 without much success.
• SuInfra provides digital work infrastructure for code-producing SMEs: wiki + bug-tracker + sourcecode repository + monitoring + VPN + SSH + user management .., integrated to single sign-on, based on free software. Status as of late 2010 - has few users but seeing it taking new users only slowly we rolled it into Random Consult's hosting services.
• Announced 100K Baltics Challenge on first half of 2011. Not a huge success.
  

Funding resources on the web that I like - and you may like as well - in no particular order:

• A panel of Bechtolsheim + Conway + Sobieski, moderated by Kawasaky, discusses ways of angel investing trade (~30min video)
• StartupStudio interview with Paul Touw, on starting new businesses
• Frank Peters podcast interview with Dave Berkus, on due diligence process
• How to start a Startup by Paul Graham
• Art of Exec Summary by Guy Kawasaky
• Jason Calacanis pragmatic do's and dont's of investor presentations
• Ruminations on Russia
• Realtime blog of funding deals
• The Funded - critical reviews and comments on funds

• Speed Kills (the Competition)
• Most common sw architecture
• Creation of Autodesk
• Painless Software Specs
• Ray Ozzie on software platforms
• Essay on software architect and architecture work, read also nice comments that explain fluidity of architect role
• Is RUP a silver bullet
• Patterns for Masses, from Blinder to Commando
• Tufte on web UI
• Electrical Engineering Mammoth Bugfix
• Every Team member has the right to cultivate the team spirit in the Studio's cat.
• On benefits of organization restructuring
• groupware: bad, users: good
• I have few personal idols...